Death of the Apprentice Redux
by Wogle
Summary: Robin is becoming more and more like Slade, but refuses to accept it. With love and relationships starting to bloom, how much is Robin willing sacrifice to finally kill Slade? Robin/Raven pairing - Important story element, but not main focus.
1. Chapter 1: Come to the Dark Side

Author's Notes:

Wow, it has been a while! Some of you may be aware that a few years ago I posted up a story called _Death of the Apprentice_, unfortunately I never finished it and uploaded the final chapter for people to read a few months ago. I've been meaning to get it finished for some time.

Now, thanks to some positive inspiration from some of my other work, I've decided to start again. The basic story is going to be the same (can't really tell you what that is or it'll spoil it), but I'm obviously making a few changes which, hopefully,will only improve it.

I guess it goes without saying that this takes place outside of the continuity of the series. If I had to choose a point at which it changes, I'd say that it takes place after Season 3 of the TV series.

So now I proudly present _Teen Titans: Death of the Apprentice (Redux)_.

Please Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Come to the Dark Side**

"Pity Robin... I thought you'd have become stronger since our last fight."

Slade's cold unemotional voice echoed in the abandoned warehouse. Only the beam of moonlight shining through its shattered windows illuminated the blackness inside. The fractured beams silhouetted the two lone figures in the centre of the warehouse. One was stood tall, seemingly confident and in control, over the other; the second figure was down on his knees, in a defeated pose using all their arm strength to keep their body from collapsing to the floor.

"Heh... Sorry to disappoint you, I guess I should have kept off the junk food."

Robin's sense of humour at a time like this seemed inappropriate, but he didn't care; his priority at that moment was killing Slade. Nothing else seemed to matter. He coughed violently letting out a spurt of blood that splattered onto the floor, and dribbled out the sides of his mouth. Slade smiled darkly behind his mask and continued to peer down at Robin.

"You still wish to fight, even at the brink of defeat?" Slade asked. "You know you can't win."

Slade's taunting heated Robin's anger to the point of boiling. He couldn't bear the thought of Slade defeating him. It would mean that Slade would go on to kill each of the titans. It meant that he would go on to cause chaos in the city. Robin wwould not allow that to happen.

"YES... I... CAN!" Robin roared.

With that, Robin painfully got to his feet, and tried to size himself up to Slade. Slade was delighted. Seeing the young boy, almost a man, so full of teh fire of rage was a glorious sight.

"Yes... Yes... Robin... Let your anger feed you... I am the one you want... Take me down!"

Robin launched himself at Slade throwing punch and kick after one another at him.

"I... WON'T... LET... YOU... WIN... YOU BASTARD!"

Each word was punctuated with a kick or a punch; Slade dodged them almost majestically, like a latin dancer. Robin pushed himself to his body's limit, fuelled purely by his anger and hatred of Slade. Finally, summoning all of his strength, he pulled out his staff and swung it as hard as he could at Slade's head, sending him crashing to the ground. Robin landed on his feet, but collapsed onto his knees almost immediately.

"Hah", he said weakly, "You forget... I never give up..." With that, he fell unconscious.

Slade, shocked, yet satisfied, moved towards the barely-alive body of Robin. Robin had smashed the bottom half of his mask, and Slade's mouth was visible. A smile curled on his lips as he stared down.

"Excellent Robin. Soon, your anger will overcome you, and you'll become EXACTLY like me."

"Yo Robin! Where the hell are you?"

Cyborg's loud voice drifted into the almost empty warehouse, soon followed by the voices of the other Titans.

"Good friend Robin, where are you?"

"Robin... Dude where are you? ROBIN!!"

"Guys... I think he's in here!"

"How do you know Raven?"

"His bike's outside Cyborg..."

"Oh... Yeah... Right..."

Slade turned to the sound advancing voices before looking back at Robin's body.

"It has now begun..." He whispered, unemotionally. With that, Slade melted back into the shadows of the warehouse.

A few moments later the front door of the warehouse smashed inwards, and the other four titans were standing, surveying the darkness.

"I don't see him," Beast Boy said.  
"Let the dust settle BB," replied Cyborg.

Raven had already sensed Robin's presence and pointed to the centre of the warehouse.

"He's there!"

They all rushed in quickly and found Robin on the ground face down, a trickle of blood flowing from a wound on his head. Cyborg turned him onto his back, checking his pulse and breathing.

"He's alive." He announced. "But he looks like shit."

"Shouldn't we take him to a hospital or something?" Raven suggested.

"I suppose we could, but you know what Robin's like Rae; he'll just rip all the wires out of himself and march out of the building. Nah, best take him back to the tower. We'll take care of him there."

The Titans all agreed this would be for the best. Raven used her powers to carry Robin out of the warehouse and onto his bike parked outside, then levitated the bike on to the top of the T-Car, although much to Cyborg's annoyance ("Hey! Watch the paint!"). Raven dropped down beside the bike and stared at Robin for a few seconds, before turning around to get off the roof.

"S... Slade..."

Raven's head jerked back towards Robin. Her eyes narrowed. She knew that name meant no good; If Robin ever had an obsession it was Slade, and no one could do anything about it. She pitied him for it..

"Robin..." Raven's voice was filled with pity. She shook her head and quickly got into the T-Car. If it indeed this was the result of Slade's actions, they had to watch over Robin carefully.

* * *

Please tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2: Dreams of a Distant Future

* * *

**Chapter 2: Dreams of a Distant Future**

"Well done my apprentice... You've led me right to them..."

The voice echoed faintly in Robin's ears. Groaning, he tried to pull himself together. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but he had a splitting headache.

"It was far too easy..."

Robin suddenly recognised the voice, and jumped to his feet instantly. Taking a quick look around to get his bearings, he found himself inside the lounge area of the Titans Tower, and had been lying on the couch in front of the large screen. He jerked his head round in every direction to find the source of Slade's voice.

"Where are you?!" demanded Robin.

"Oh... I'm near apprentice..." Came the reply.

Robin stumbled to his feet, weakly holding his body up. He scanned the darkness with his trained eyes and slowly staggered towards the main door. Upon reaching it he tried to punch the lock-code into the pad to the side, but "_Access Denied_" was all he could get out of it.

Robin cursed, and turned around shouting into the darkness.

"Why are you calling me your apprentice? I'm not your apprentice anymore! Your apprentice was Terra!"

A cold chuckle was his reply. Robin tried to hone in on its direction, but he was having difficulty. Slade's chuckle finally died down, and he began to talk.

"Yes... She was an, interesting, apprentice. She was strong, I'll admit, but only because of her powers. But she was never truly like me. She still cared for you pathetic titans, and only wanted acceptance. I accepted her when you turned her away... I trained her to use her skills effectively. However, even when she didn't hold back, you were able to all defeat her so easily."

The screen turned on, and Slade's mask filled the entire wall. Robin stared the mask now etched into every corner of his memory. Everything behind Slade was pitch-black; no way of finding out where he was.

"You on the other hand Robin, you have no powers, yet you are able to perform such magnificent manoeuvres. You have agility and strength far beyond these mere worthless titans. You've been able to defeat them all, even when holding back your full potential. You know all of your weakness, a valuable asset.

Slade's head tilted forward on the screen, as if he were peering over a pair of glasses and directly into Robin's eyes.

"But best of all, Robin, you're exactly like me..."

These words infuriated Robin, and Slade knew it. It was one of the few things that could him over the edge. Robin clenched his hands tightly.

"NO!" Robin Screamed. "I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"On the contrary", came a satisfied voice, "have you ever TRIED to compare the both of us?"

Static now consumed the television screen, sending Robin into a heightened state of alert. He continued to survey his surroundings cautiously. From the shadows, Slade's voice emerged once again.

"Robin, I'll let you in on a little secret."

"What's that? You like puppy dogs?"

"Hahaha. Not quite. I can tell you why we're the same."

"Enlighten me. I enjoy disproving myths."

"Indeed. However I know that you became a hero for revenge."

Robin froze. How did Slade know that? Robin was suddenly rooted to the spot in fear. There was no one other than… No, it couldn't be him. Robin knew his fighting style. But no one else knew of Robin's vengeful vendetta.

"I too, started out for revenge. As the years went on, I became more and more angry with my enemies. I wanted to teach each of them a lesson, to punish them. When I had a target, I would stop at nothing to get to them. Not even if it would kill me. Sound like someone you know, Robin?"

Behind his mask, Robin's eyes displayed fear and anxiety. Slade spoke the truth; Robin was all of those. Were he and Slade really the same?

"And now Robin, allow me to enhance your hatred and lust for vengeance."

Slade emerged out of the shadows, dragging two objects beside himself. At first Robin couldn't make out what they were, but it soon turned out to be not what, but who.

In his right hand, Slade had his fingers clutching to the remains of Cyborg's head. Any flesh left of him dripped blood, whilst any mechanical parts dragged behind him. The left contained Beast Boy; his lifeless grey body fitting his stare. He simply dropped them both to the ground as if they were nothing but bags of rubbish to him. Robin tightened his fists, ready to pounce.

"Ah, ah, ah, Robin, we don't want to be impolite and not allow the LADIES their introduction now do we?"

Robin's eyes widened. Slade wouldn't be so cruel as to do anything to them, would he?

"You better not have touched them." Robin threatened menacingly.

A click of Slade's fingers gave the answer to Robin. Starfire's body fell from the ceiling, burned, and still bleeding. As it landed at Robin's feet, it made a sickening crunching sound. For a few moments, Robin could only stare at Starfire's body. She was so innocent, and kind; she would never hurt anyone. Slade didn't seem to think along the same wavelength though. His twisted mind had no idea of innocence, remorse or pity. Robin knelt down, and caressed Starfire's hand, holding it tightly.

"Star..." He croaked. Suddenly, he remembered that there was one titan left. Robin dropped Starfire's hand and moved into a threatening stance at Slade.

"Where's Raven?" He demanded.

"Oh, her? She's not dead... yet..."

Raven fell from the ceiling to the floor in front of Slade. However, she was not scarred, burned or hurt. She looked up at Robin, who saw pure terror in her sapphire eyes. The tower began shaking violently, and the windows rattled loudly as Raven's emotions began to rocket.

"Robin…" Her voice was cracking from the fear.

Slade grabbed her by the hood of the cloak she always wore and yanked her upwards with his left hand. Robin started to make a move towards them, but it was too late. Slade took his right hand and placed it across Raven's face. In a second, he had ripped her face off, her horrific face matching the piercing cries that escaped her lungs. The windows shattered, raining glass over everything. Slade was ignorant of it and proceeded to lazily snap her neck.

"NO!" Robin screamed.

There was nothing he could do. As Raven's body slumped to the ground, Robin fell to his knees weak with pain, emotionally and physically. Everyone was dead. It was his fault. He was weak, and wasn't able to stop Slade.

"How does it feel Robin, to have no friends?" Boomed Slade's voice.

Slade's voice was becoming faint, and fading out the more he talked. Robin heard no more, as he was consumed by his grief and despair at losing all of the titans to the one person he had grown to loathe.

A single voice echoed in the distance.

"Robin? Are you ok? Robin... Robin?"

* * *

"Robin? You ok?"

"GAAAHHH!"

Robin's eyes shot open, sweat and tears trickling out from under the mask. His conscious mind stopped his body's screaming. It was dark, but he still noticed a hand and arm over him. Instinctively, he grabbed it and pushed it off his body, following it off the bed, before finally landing on the top of the owner. Looking down his heavy gasps for air suddenly lightened, but he showed no signs of letting go of his "assailant".

He was in his room. It was night. The curtains had been opened, and outside, dirty clouds covered the beautiful, shining moon. However, the clouds that had once been obstructing the moonlight outside began to move away, allowing the bright moonlight to flood the room. Robin could finally see the owner of the arm.

He hesitated...


	3. Chapter 3: Apologies with Feeling

**Chapter 3: Apologies with Feeling**

Raven's eyes were wide open with fear, and she was breathing heavily. Raven's abilities were controlled by her emotions, so she always had to keep them in check. Small emotional outbursts like a small shock, or a giggle or two were fine (although Raven was never caught doing so), but letting them go wild meant her powers would do so as well. Having a topless eighteen year old launch himself from his bed and pin you to the floor threateningly did nothing to help Raven control her powers, and it was the window in Robin's bedroom that fell victim to her emotional outbreak. A soft breeze flowed in, accompanying the moonlight that was already washing through the room. The two titans were frozen; Robin was lying on the top of Raven, whose right arm was pinned to the floor.

"R-R-Robin?" Raven stuttered.

Realising what he was doing, Robin immediately let go of her arm and stepped backwards, an expression of horror on his face. Hesitantly, he extended his hand out to her. She too was slightly hesitant at accepting this, but eventually allowed herself to be pulled up so she could stand.

"Sorry." Robin's apologetic tone was very sincere. "I was-"

"Dreaming about Slade?" Raven finished.

Robin's shock was etched in his face. Did she enter his mind? Did he sleep talk? Was it really that obvious?

"How did you know?"

Raven managed to pull a small, yet noticeable smile - something very odd for her.

"You left the tower at 3am, on your own, after turning off the threat alarms and didn't call for backup even though you were almost dead. He's the only guy with that sort of effect on you. It's like you're obsessed with him."

So he was that easy to read. Robin sat down on his bed and looked down at the floor. Raven reluctantly sat down next to him. Neither said anything. Neither could think of anything to say. It was Raven who finally plucked up the courage to talk first.

"Umm... You ok?" She asked in a somewhat monotone voice. It was a somewhat ridiculous question to ask given the circumstances, but the awkward nature of it made Robin chuckle. He looked up and faced her.

"I don't know." He said. He stretched out his right arm, bending his elbow a couple of times. "Stiff and aching, but nothing I haven't experienced before. How long have I been asleep?"

Raven looked up to the ceiling as if to search for the answer up there.

"Let's see… I guess it must be about four days now."

Robin leapt to his feet in alarm. He started to march towards his door.

"Four days! That's enough time to let Sla-"

Robin stopped. He turned around to see Raven still sat on the bed staring at him in horror. He sighed and stared at ceiling. What was he thinking? He'd only just come out of unconsciousness and the first thing on list was to find Slade. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was obsessed about him. He walked back over to the bed and down next to Raven, before staring out of his glassless window.

"Sorry. It's just… I hate to see it when anyone escapes. Especially him."

Robin winced and felt for his ribs. He finally remembered that he had been injured.

"I know." Raven told him. "But the best thing you can do now is rest."

Robin continued to stare into the cool night air. Raven tried to find something more to say.

"Look, I'm not going to say 'there's nothing you can do' or anything like that, because you won't listen, will you? If we tried to stop you, you'd find a way of getting out so there's no point in trying."

Robin turned towards Raven, who continued her speech.

"But if you're going to go after him, at least do it when you're fully healed."

Raven looked pleadingly into Robin's mask; his eyes shielded by the thin veil. However, it gave him the chance to look at Raven properly. He had never really looked at her properly before. He'd always thought she was cold and conservative and simply accepted her like that. He never realised she could be this caring about anyone, or anything, especially him. Staring deeper into her eyes, he noticed that despite her pale complexion, she was in fact quite cute.

"Something wrong?"

That sentence snapped Robin out of his daydream and back into reality.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About Slade."

"Oh..." Raven began to turn to the floor with a look of slight disappointment on her face. Robin noticed this and tried to add something more.

"I just don't want him to hurt anyone. I don't want anyone to lose loved ones or friends."

Raven put her hand on Robin's shoulder. Goosebumps suddenly rose on his neck, and he felt his heart beat slightly faster, causing an uncomfortable ache in his ribs. It hurt a little, but he managed to hold a straight face.

"We all think the same way Robin," Raven whispered.

"I just..." Robin seemed to be going off in a sort of daze. "I just don't know what I'll do if I did lose you."

"Excuse me?" She was clearly taken aback by his last statement. Robin, realising what he just said, tried to explain himself.

"I-I mean, I don't know what I'd do without you… and the rest of the titans."

"Oh, ok."

Robin wasn't sure, but he thought he saw an expression of disappointment appear on Raven's face. It was hard to tell because she held quite a blank expression, but she definitely appeared to be growing slightly suspicious of his comment. Robin started to panic, and tried to change the subject quickly.

"So... umm... How did you find me?"

"Your bike. Cyborg had a tracer planted on it just in case you tried something like you did four days ago."

"Haha." Robin was actually amused by that revelation. Sure it was a little intrusive, but he understood their paranoia. "I see. And I've been lying in here since then?"

"Well, yeah. I've been taking care of you. Sort of."

Raven began to blush a little pink, which Robin noticed, but said nothing about. He was now intrigued.

"So... Why did you stay?"

It was now Raven's turn to become tongue-tied.

"I... I'm the only one with any real healing powers. I... thought you'd need them." She knew that answer didn't satisfy Robin. "I also wanted to make sure you didn't go storming off after Slade when you woke up, since I'm the only one who's worked out it was Slade that attacked you."

"Really? The others don't know?"

"No. I've kept it under wraps. They'd hit the roof if they knew what you were doing. I made up some story about you handling some crazies, which they seemed to buy… Just."

"Oh. Well umm... Thanks."

Raven smiled at the young fighter and stood up.

"No problem." She said.

Raven moved over to the broken glass on the floor, and using her powers managed to seal up the broken window. When she turned round to ask Robin a question, she found he had fallen asleep again. Raven slowly walked over to Robin's bedside and leaned over him.

She had forgotten he was actually half-dressed. How could she not notice? His muscular, well-built body was-

Wait...

Raven shook her head to compose herself. What was she thinking? He's her leader and friend. Was this all due to the comment he made earlier? She leaned in closer to Robin and could hear him snoring quietly. It was actually cute looking at him like this. She giggled and she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight Robin," she whispered, and walked out of his room.

As the automatic doors closed, the sleeping body of Robin slowly sat up. He turned to the door and felt the cheek that Raven had kissed, before slowly laying his head back on his pillow.

"Goodnight... Rae..."


	4. Chapter 4: Awakened but Unscathed

A/N: For those that remember, this chapter consists of elements from the original Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Awaken, but Unscathed**

Despite the troubles of the previous night, Robin was up relatively early the next morning. He knew his body still needed time to heal, but with nothing to entertain him, boredom set in very easily.

At least nothing could entertain him until about 8:30. 8:29 and Robin was just in the hallway into the living room area staring down at the watch on his arm waiting for the moment.

"Almost there," he said to himself.

Five seconds to go.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One!

The sound of crunching was swiftly followed by retching and spitting.

"BEAST BOY!! I SAID NO TOFU!"

Robin chuckled quietly to himself. The daily Tofu-meat battle had begun on the dot.

"Aww come on Cyborg! Tofu's great! It's just like meat, but not!"

"Maybe great for you! But I prefer real meat if you don't mind!"

"Hey, when I cook, the meat stays away from me! I'm not a cannibal!"

"Oh yeah? Guess why yesterday's "Tofu" tasted so good?"

A girlish squeal and the sound of cutlery hitting the floor followed that statement, along with a large thud.

"Huh," Came Cyborg's voice. "I didn't expect him to take it _that_ seriously."

"Cy, that was SO not funny!"

"Good friends, must you always argue like this in the morning?"

"Star", began Beast Boy, "there's no way I'll stop until Cyborg accepts tofu and stops making those stupid jokes! Come on Raven, you've got to agree!"

"Please keeping joking like that Cyborg, it keeps him quiet. And Robin, you're standing in Starfire's zorgaberries."

Robin wasn't sure what to react surprised to first; the zorgaberries or the fact Raven knew he was there. He instinctively looked down to inspect his location, but found nothing. Instead, his balance took a shock and he fell forward from the shadowy corrdor into the main room area, in a not-so-dignified manner onto his face. Groaning, he slowly lifted his head up and looked round to the surprised faces of the other titans.

Cyborg and Beast Boy had stopped the usual battle of the food and were staring down at the clumsy Robin. Both had forgotten the fact that they were holding each other's throats. Starfire was floating above the kitchen counter with a squeezy bottle of appeared to be mustard, her gaze on Robin one of delight. Raven on the other hand was leaning against the kitchen counter reading a book, with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Gotcha," she smirked.

The other titans neither moved nor said anything until Robin finally got to his feet.

"Umm, Morning guys," he said finally.

"ROBIN!" Starfire exclaimed. She rushed down dropping the mustard onto the head of Cyborg ("Starfire! Watch where you're dropping things!"), and hugged Robin in a vice-like grip, causing him to wince and go purple with the lack of oxygen.

"It is so good to have you back with us!" She told him. "The days have been most of the boring without you!"

"Yeah, thanks Star," Robin replied straining. "Umm, is it too much to ask if you could, y'know, loosen your grip?"

"Huh? Oh! I am so sorry!"

Starfire let Robin go, and simply beamed at him. Cyborg and Beast Boy laughed and walked over to him.

"Haha... Guess you're looking alright." Cyborg said to Robin, giving him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Just remember, those four days you were out gave me enough time to practice kicking your ass on every game in the tower!"

"Oh yeah?" Robin joked heartily. "Bring it on Cy!"

"Hey, guys," Beast Boy smugly said. "You both know I'm still the champion?"

"Yeah right BB," Cyborg laughed. "Hey Robin! Want some cooked breakfast. With MEAT!"

Cyborg shot a fierce, yet joking look at Beast Boy. Beast Boy replied with a similar look.

"No way! He KNOWS Tofu's good!"

Robin laughed to himself before replying.

"No thanks guys. I think I'll stick to some muesli..."

Both Cyborg and Beast Boy frowned at Robin with real disappointment.

"Typical... You have to go with the boring healthy breakfast!" They said in unison.

Robin laughed out loud as he walked towards the kitchen, and noticed Raven, still reading her book, was laughing too. Everyone looked towards her in surprise.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "She... She laughed at something I said!"

"No BB," said Raven, "I'm laughing at you."

Everyone laughed at that joke, including Beast Boy, who took a few seconds to suddenly realise what she had said.

"Hey! That's not funny!"

As Robin began to pour the milk into his "tasty" bowl of muesli, he moved his head up to look at Raven, and to his surprise noticed that she was staring at him. Upon realising the eye contact, she snapped her head back to the position it was when she was reading her book. Robin made no comment, simply continuing to stare at the purple-haired girl, and began to think back to the previous night. Why _did_ Raven kiss him? Was it just a friendly goodnight? Would she have done so if he weren't snoring? To Robin, Raven's kiss didn't just feeling like a friendly kiss, but it actually felt like something was between them - it was a sort of bond.

"Umm, Robin, is the white cow-liquid supposed to be poured onto shoes when making the Muesli?"

Robin snapped back to reality and realised he was still pouring the milk. He gave a yelp of surprise and stopped pouring. Looking down, Robin found that the milk had overflowed from the bowl, spilled onto the kitchen counter and onto his shoes. Whilst Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at him suspiciously, cheeks filled with food, Robin attempted to rummage around the bottom cupboards and find a cloth to wipe up the mess.

"Don't worry, I got it."

Raven had already found a cloth and, using her powers, was wiping up the remainder of the milk whilst standing next to Robin. Robin looked up sheepishly at her, causing Raven to blush a barely noticeable light pink.

"There, done," she said quickly, and floated off to the couch to read her book. Robin picked up his bowl of muesli and began to slowly guzzle it down, still staring at Raven. Cyborg stared at the both of them with raised eyebrows. He leant over to Beast Boy.

"Hey, BB," Cyborg whispered, "What's up with those two? "

Beast Boy stopped guzzling down his tofu pancakes and looked up at Cyborg, tofu dripping out the ides of his mouth. He looked over at Robin, then to Raven, then back at Cyborg and shrugged. Cyborg just gave him a look of disgust.

"Man, that's disgusting! Get a tissue or something."

Beast Boy and Cyborg began to argue again, and left the living room continuing to do so. Starfire, who had suddenly discovered the joy of vegetarian sushi with Mustard and pickles followed suit to offer them a compromise breakfast. Robin and Raven were alone. With no one else to talk to, Robin thought he might as well try to make conversation with Raven, and finally decided to go sit next to her.

"You mind if I sit here?"

Robin had walked over to couch and was standing in front of Raven, who continued to read her book. Raven shrugged, which Robin took as a yes. He planted his backside next to Raven and began to devour his muesli, as Raven continued to read her book. Neither said anything at all for a couple of minutes, but both had thoughts flying around their head.

"_Oh god..._" Raven thought. "_I hope he didn't know what I did last night. That would be really embarrassing. If he asks about it, just say it was a friendly goodnight. Yeah, that'll work. His cheek was really soft thou- Whoa! Stop right there, Raven._"  
"_Come on..._" Robin thought to himself. "_It was just a small, friendly kiss... Right? Why am I thinking about it? Should I ask her about it? Wait, does that make me keen or something?_"

Finally, the silence was broken.

"Don't you hate that?"

Raven had asked Robin something quite unexpected, though still reading her book. Robin looked over at Raven, confused, but still eating his muesli.

"Umm... What?" he asked.  
"Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to talk about bullshit in order to be comfortable?"

Robin finished off the last of his muesli, placed the bowl on the table in front of him, and leant back on the couch, stretching his arms out behind it, and pondering Raven's question. Raven moved her eyes slowly and saw that his forearms were actually behind her back, but trusted him and returned to reading her book.

"I don't know." Robin finally replied. "That's a very good question."

"That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence."

Robin turned and looked at Raven. He had never seen this side of her before, and was intrigued. She never seemed like the type of person who'd bring up a subject like this - she seemed more of someone who'd talk about more depressive things.

For the next hour they managed to talk about everything; everything but their past that is. They argued over what was the best music genre, they argued over what was the best film out so far, even whether Sushi was better than noodles. However, since they didn't talk about their pasts, it was as though they both had something terrible to hide from the other. By 9:40, both had managed to get onto the subject of waffles.

"You're telling me you ACTUALLY love waffles."

"Yes Robin, I love waffles."

"Would you do anything for waffles."

"Hypothetically yes. Don't even think about bribing me."

Robin laughed out loud and threw his head back in laughter at that statement. He liked Raven's sense of humour, but also found that it was more entertaining by the fact that she talked in a monotone voice. Raven on the other hand, was only giggling at Robin's boyish laughter. Their laughter did not last for long though, as the alarms went off in the tower. Both Robin and Raven instantly stopped laughing. Robin raced over to the monitor's control panel and started typing things in.

"Raven!" He ordered. "Go get the others. I'll find out who it is."

Raven nodded, and floated off to grab the other titans. It didn't take long to round them up, since they were already on their way up. However, when they returned they found that Robin had abandoned the console.

"Where'd he go?" Cyborg wondered out loud.

As the rest of titans stood in the doorway, Raven walked up to panel and began to type a few things in, finally coming up with the last camera feed. She gasped, realising the situation.

"Oh hell no!" Cyborg groaned.  
"Friends, we must go to him quickly!" Starfire advised.

As the four remaining titans raced down to the T-car, they left the flickering image on the Monitor to play.

It was Slade.


	5. Chapter 5: Bonding the Birds

**Author's Notes:**

Hey guys.

Sorry this is so late, but I have been away from my own computer for a while.

Anyway, this is a shorter chapter, as the original first half of this chapter (where Robin sits and talks with Raven) made its way into the previous one.

Also, those who read the ORIGINAL "Death of the Apprentice" might remember I put up the ending for all to read (despite having never finished the rest of the story). That is no longer the ending. That (well... an edited version of it) is now the penultimate chapter. There is in fact an epilogue chapter which I'm sure will satisfy far more people than the original did. It balances out what happens in the original ending.

Anyway, let's move on.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Bonding the Birds**

"AAAAARGGGHH!"

Robin's falling scream was short-lived; he hit a beam on his way to the ground, bouncing off it like a rag doll before finally landing hard on his back. The mushroom cloud of dust engulfed him as he slowly rolled over onto his front, and slowly pushed himself up to face the shadowy figure walking towards him.

"Robin, you HAVE improved, but you're still far from my level of combat skill."

"We'll see Slade!"

The almost common battle between Slade and Robin had commenced once again. Robin threw punch after kick after punch at the towering villain, who merely parried all of Robin's attempts to find an opening to exploit. Although an extremely proficient martial artist, Robin's skill no match for Slade's, and he found himself on the floor underneath Slade's foot.

"Robin, "Slade said with a steely voice, "I'm extremely disappointed in your lack of sense. You have no chance of beating me, but you certainly have the potential as a great apprentice. Join me."

A flash of blinding light threw Slade off-guard for a few seconds, but it was long enough for Robin to give Slade several good strikes. Slade back flipped out of the threat area and observed the fatigued Titan dropping to his knees, and finally collapsing onto the floor. He strolled over to Robin, who was drifting in and out of consciousness, and using all of his willpower to get back into the fight.

"Well," said Slade, "you certainly got me there. Excellent Robin. Using tactics in combat is a fine attribute, and I commend it."

He kicked Robin in the stomach, sending the Titan sprawling limply across the construction site.

"Of course I don't enjoy being hit either, so I'm afraid you'll have to be punished. "

Slade lifted his right foot up slowly over the unconscious body of Robin.

"Goodbye, my apprentice..."

"Leave him alone!"

A green star bolt hit Slade, square in the chest, throwing him off his feet and onto the floor. The other four Titans had finally arrived. Surveying the surroundings, they noticed Robin once again lying limp on the ground. Raven turned to the rest of the team.

"You guys take on Slade," she told them. "I'll drag Robin out of the way, and try to heal him as much as I can."  
"Ok, Rae," Cyborg replied. His eyes now fixated themselves on Slade. "TITANS, GO!"

Each of the titans raced to their do their parts; Beast Boy attempted to wrestle Slade as a Gorilla, whilst Starfire and Cyborg hit him from long range. Raven floated over to the unconscious Robin checking his vitals. He was alive, but was in a bay way, much worse than he was a few days ago.

"Come on Robin, keep fighting," Raven whispered to herself. She placed her hands over Robin's chest, which began to glow gently as she attempted to mend any damage he had incurred.

In the other half of the battle, Slade was growing tired of the assaulting trio. Although their teamwork was impeccable, their moves were predictable, and there was no sense of the furious purpose that was so evident in the fights with Robin.

"Raven," Cyborg yelled out to her in between his attacks, "you almost done? We need some extra hands!"

"I still need some time!" Raven yelled back, with worry and panic in her voice.

As she turned back to healing Robin, she noticed a green glove rise up and slowly caress her cheek. Raven stopped in shock, and looked down into Robin's mask.

"R-Robin?" She exclaimed. The boy wonder smiled weakly.

"Raven..."

Both looked into each other's eyes. Robin was barely conscious, but he registered Raven's presence and it was soothing. However, his strength didn't last and Robin fainted with exhaustion. Raven felt his body slump, and tried to drag him behind a pillar.

Slade had watched the entire scene. Having found the battle with Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire, much too boring his eyes wandered over to where Robin and Raven were. He paid special attention to Robin's act, and smiled to himself.

"So, you DO have a weakness after all Robin."

Slade performed a backflip to land on one of the high beams of the unfinished building. He towered over the Titans menacingly.

"Until we meet again..."

Giving a small mocking nod, he melted into the shadows, leaving the titans bewildered and confused.

"Uh… What was that about?" Cyborg asked.

"Who knows dude." Beast Boy rubbed his aching back. "I don't care to be honest. I'm just glad he's not kicking me in the back anymore."

"Umm... Should we not check on Robin?" Starfire suggested.

The trio made their way over to Robin and raven's position, finding the former unconscious and the latter finishing off healing him.

"Well, that's as much of him as I can heal," Raven announced. "The rest will just take time. Any idea what Slade wanted?"

Cyborg shook his head; disappointed that they knew as much as they did when they got there.

"Nothing. This doesn't even look like the sort of place for him to scout."

The Titans all stood silently, perplexed by the events that they had taken part in.

" Should we not get Robin back to the tower for repairing?" Starfire asked.

Suddenly realising that Robin still needed medical attention, Cyborg launched back into the role of temporary team leader.

"Ok then, let's just Robin back to the tower. There's nothing more we can learn here."

As they left the area, Robin being moved by Raven, a silhouette in the shadows stepped into natural light. Slade smiled to himself.

He knew exactly how to make Robin his apprentice.

* * *

**A/N**: So... Please post some reviews on what you think so far.

I should warn you that this is the most action-filled chapter you'll see for a bit because the following ones... Well, you'll see.


	6. Chapter 6: DejaVu

**AUTHOR NOTES:**

**Another chapter of _Death of the Apprentice: Redux_ makes an appearance. It's a somewhat fluffy chapter.  
**

**Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of the chapter, but you guys can tell me what you think.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Deja-Vu**

Robin sat up sharply on a Titans Tower infirmary bed, sweating heavily. For a few seconds he breathed in and out slowly, deeply, and heavily, surveying his dark surroundings. Feeling something touch his right shoulder, he immediately he grabbed the foreign object before pulling it towards him. An entire body followed the arm Robin was gripping. Without hesitation, he pinned the person to the bed, towering over the assailant with his knuckles pointed at their throat.

"I'm kind of getting a feeling of Deja-Vu."

His eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light, Robin slowly, and with an embarrassed expression, slowly removed his hand from near Raven's throat, and allowed her to stand up next to the bed.

"Sorry," Robin said quietly. "Reflex action I guess."

Raven raised an eyebrow and eyed him suspiciously. Anyone who had a reflex action like that was pretty paranoid. Of course, she already knew that about Robin, and so did pretty much every other titan in the tower.

Robin was about to stand up before remembering what the Titans would do if he attempted to get up and walk around. He decided to lie back on the infirmary bed and look up at the ceiling instead. His ribs started to ache. Perhaps it _was_ the better choice after all.

"Right." Raven's attempt at an understanding reply merely came off as a cynical remark.

"Can't say I'm surprised though. You're pretty paranoid y'know."

Robin chuckled nervously, but he knew it was an uncomfortable truth. He was never one to trust people; something he had inherited from his former mentor. An uneasy silence followed, neither of them saying much before a tired-looking Cyborg charged into the infirmary, switching the light on as he entered.

"I heard a bit of a racket in he-" he stopped mid-sentence seeing Robin staring at the ceiling "Oh, Robin, you're awake! You ok man."

Robin turned his face towards Cyborg.

"I'm fine Cyborg."

"Good. Well Rae can stay here and look after you, 'cos I gotta get back. Starfire's attempting to feed BB some sort of a Tamaranian meat, without him knowing. Anyway, just rest a bit y-"

A high-pitched scream pierced the air, and voices floated in from the corridor.

"Starfire, keep that stuff away from me!"

"But Beast Boy, the Tamaranian sputwink cake is a delicacy on my planet!"

"I don't care, it wiggles of it's own free will!"

A green blur, followed by a purple one flashed past the door. Cyborg sighed.

"I guess I'd better sort those two out."

Cyborg looked out into the corridor and stared in shock and horror.

"OH MAN! STARFIRE WHAT'VE YOU DONE!"

Cyborg raced off to save, what Robin assumed, was Starfires attempts at turning beast Boy cannibal. Robin moved to the edge of the bed and sat on it before slowly looking up at Raven, who hadn't moved since Robin had let go of her earlier. Robin could tell that there was an uneasy feeling in room. He checked his watch. 05:26. He stood up, expecting Raven to rush to stop him; he noticed she moved a little, but she appeared hesitant to do anything. Robin walked towards the large window that face east, before turning to Raven.

"Come here", he said softly.

Raven's hesitation continued.

"Trust me."

She finally floated over to Robin. For a few minutes, they said nothing. Raven was beginning to wonder what Robin was doing. They were simply stood doing nothing. She opened her mouth to speak, but Robin raised his hand and whispered.

"Hold on a second Raven."

Deciding to play along, Raven continued to stare out of the window hoping to finally see what Robin wanted to show her. She shivered slightly. Was it colder?

"That's natural," Robin reassured her. "This is the coldest part of the day."

Raven nodded, although still confused about why she was here.

"Here we go", Robin finally said.

The Sun began to peek over the horizon, causing Raven to gasp in awe. She'd always seen Sunsets so red and beautiful, but she had never been up early enough to see a sunrise in the same sort of way. The golden light climbed over the distant mountains, crept up on the sleepy city, and sparkled over the still ocean before finally washing over the Titans Tower. Raven closed her eyes as she felt the warm rays touch her skin. They didn't appear to bathe her in the normal warmth, but it felt weirdly unnatural. Robin turned from looking at the sunrise to look at Raven, whose face seemed to glow in the early morning sunrise. For several minutes, they watched the sunrise from the depths of the ocean.

"What do you think?" asked Robin as the Sun began to fully form above the mountain range. Raven shrugged her shoulders.

"It was ok I suppose."

Robin gave a small chuckle, which died away very quickly. Raven kept a watch on him out of the corner of her eye, and noticed that he had suddenly switched personalities. The "romantic" and sweet man that had stood next to her before the sunrise had evaporated; replaced with a figure whose facial expression was determined and hard. She knew exactly what was going through his head at this moment in time.

"Don't ruin it Robin," she said quietly, still staring out of the window.

Robin eyed her suspiciously. She was vague about what she was talking about, but he had a good guess at what it was about.

"Ruin what?" He asked innocently.

"Please," Raven finally turned to him, "don't think about him now. This is probably one of the most peaceful moments of my life. Don't ruin it."

Robin stared into Raven's pleading, deep purple eyes. He sighed.

"Ok."

"Umm, you don't have to stroke my hair too y'know."

Robin obviously had no idea what he was doing, and quickly yanked his arm out of sight and turned around, letting Raven giggle a little. Robin quickly moved out of the infirmary, making Raven's giggling stop dead. She floated out of the infirmary after him.

"Robin..." She began.

Robin stopped and turned to look at Raven, who was staring at him cautiously - as if she was trying to ask something she really shouldn't.

"What is it?" Robin asked.  
"Umm, why don't we go shopping later?"

"_Shopping_!" Thought Robin. "_What the hell is she asking about shopping for at this time? I need to catch Slade; I don't have time for this. It's pointless_."

Raven saw the same expression after he looked out the window form on Robin's face once again.

"Come on Robin, a bit of shopping will take your mind off him."

"I don't WANT to forget him. I want to make Slade PAY!"

Robin's voice wasn't loud, but it was assertive. He began to march towards his room, but was stopped by the black wall that formed. He stopped in his tracks.

"Drop the wall Raven." He warned. Robin's voiced had become stone cold, and didn't sound anything like him. "I'm warning you."

"Or you'll do what?" Raven retorted. "Look at yourself Robin. LISTEN to yourself. This isn't like you. Yes, you can be a little possessed over Slade, but now your becoming-"

Raven immediately stopped talking. She knew pushing it too far with that sentence. Robin clenched his hands into tight fists. Raven feared he was going to attack her.

But Robin knew that she was right. His hands relaxed, and his shoulders slumped. He was calming down. He faced Raven, who hesitantly dropped the wall she had created with her powers.

"Fine." Robin had finally given in. "We can go shopping."

Raven floated to where Robin stood and both began to walk down the corridor towards her room.

"I wanna get changed before breakfast though," said Raven. Robin nodded in agreement.

"Y'know", Robin joked, "I'm guessing that this shopping trip is a little more than just to get me to calm down. As a girl, you should know that guys hate shopping trips."

"That's true." Raven sighed. "I'm supposed to be accompanying Starfire, who thinks I don't actually have enough clothes. I need some moral support."

They both laughed. Stopping outside Raven's room, Robin turned and gave Raven a funny look.

"Really? You a GIRL don't have a ton of clothes?"

"Please Robin, I don't exactly socialise much. I see no need for a lot of them."

"But you have something other than that tight-fitting leotard right?"

"_Oh shit,_" thought Robin, "_did I really say tight-fitting_?_ What the hell is wrong with me_?" He mentally kicked himself, and looked apologetically at Raven who was looking slightly offended. However, her look was more at his comment on her wardrobe contents.

"Hey, I do have clothes other y'know."

Robin scratched his head sheepishly. Raven giggled and stepped into her room. She turned to face Robin, as if you say, "Don't even think about coming in." Robin got the message and just stood outside the door.

Inside her room, Raven threw open her wardrobe, to find that she really didn't have a lot of clothes.

_"Maybe they were right?"_

As Raven delved into her wardrobe, Robin paced quietly outside her room.

"So. How do I look?"

Robin turned around, and raised an eyebrow. Raven was certainly no longer wearing her leotard. She was wearing a tight fitting blue tank top, which was covered over by a zip-up white hoody (which wasn't zipped up), with her long purple hair flowing over her shoulders. She was never one to wear trousers either, but in this case, her tight jeans suited her figure well. Robin couldn't believe she was the same Raven. Were it not for her light-grey skin she probably would have passed for normal. Raven turned her head away slightly, and blushed, before speaking to Robin in her usual monotone voice.

"So... Do I look ok?"

Robin shook himself out of his daze and answered immediately.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. Raven suddenly stared at him suspiciously, forcing Robin to try and cover up his tracks. "I mean... What I meant to say was... You look... Nice and... Umm..."

Robin slumped his shoulders and looked down at the floor in defeat.

"I'm... Not going to win this, am I?"

Raven placed her hand over her mouth, and giggled slightly.

"It's fine."

She grabbed his arm and interlocked it into hers, making Robin feel slightly uncomfortable.

"I believe I was promised breakfast."


End file.
